Foie gras lawsuit: Ban upheld, but lawsuit can proceed [Update]

Foie gras prepared at Hot's Kitchen, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty

As soon as the July 1 statewide ban on foie gras went into effect, a lawsuit seeking to overturn it was filed by three parties, New York-based Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Canadian non-profit Association des Eleveurs de Canards et d’Oies du Québec and Southern California’s Hot’s Restaurant Group, Inc.

A federal judge denied a request Wednesday to temporarily stop California’s ban on the sale of foie gras, saying that until a lawsuit over the legislation’s constitutionality is hashed out in court, the statute still stands.

The suit’s plaintiffs asked for the temporary restraining order, saying that as long as “this unconstitutionally vague and burdensome law is in effect,” they’re collectively losing $11,000 a day in revenues.

But Judge Stephen Wilson, who heard arguments in Los Angeles’ U.S. District Court, did not find that their concerns rose to the kind of emergency level that would warrant him calling off the ban.